Why America's most maligned state deserves some love

Grabbing anyone's attention in this modern age can be a difficult feat. People are busy, moments where we switch off and stop are genuinely rare - and, thanks to the constant buzz of social media in our eyes and ears, our concentration spans have, apparently, been reduced to something shorter than the time between the beats of a gnat's wings.

The situation is exacerbated if you are a travel destination, and you are hoping to convince would-be holidaymakers to spend some of their exceedingly precious time inside your hotels, on your beaches, or up at the top of whatever is your tallest building.

There are 200 countries on the planet, give or take a little haggling over what, precisely, constitutes a nation state. And while not all of them are places where you might want to pull up a sun-lounger tomorrow, many of them would like more tourists - and are happy to advertise their wares in dreamy posters and seductive advertisements.

So what do you do if you are - to be polite - a lesser segment of the travelsphere? A location few people consider seeing? A dimmer light whose glow is swallowed by the million-watt dazzle from other, more feted hotspots in your neck of the woods?

Do you: A) Invest a little more cash in your next publicity push. Because more means more, yes? B) Publish the same sheaf of brochures and pictures as every other year - because someone is bound to notice you soon, and that old Einstein quote about how "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results" is a load of nonsense, right? Or C) Sign off a promotional drive which makes mildly negative comments about what you have to offer, and plays up to general perceptions that your landscape is "boring" - with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek?

If you are Nebraska, then the answer is C. And you may just have hit upon something.

In the last week, this little-noticed (at least in terms of tourism) state, pitched roughly at the heart of the continental USA, has launched a PR campaign which, at first glance, seems like an act of self-sabotage.

"Honestly, it's not for everyone," runs the key slogan - in response to the results of one regular tourism survey which, for four consecutive years, has listed Nebraska as the US state tourists are least interested in visiting. "Famous for our flat, boring landscape," reads another tagline, placed next to a rocky vista - a shot across the bows of the popular opinion that Nebraska is an all-but featureless expanse of cornfields and dirt roads, stretching to a far-too-distant horizon.

Commercial suicide? Almost certainly not. Even in the space of a few days, it is clear that the campaign is starting to work (perform an internet search for "Nebraska" and you will see just how many news outlets across the planet have covered the story). It is snappy, clever, and can only raise the profile of a "destination" that has almost no profile - either with American tourists looking to explore their own country, or with overseas travellers who tend to be drawn to states that deal in broad vistas and the potential for lengthy road trips, but are still largely unaware of Nebraska's existence.

Part of Nebraska's problem is that, where some places stand out on the map, it seems actively to shrink from view. You almost have to scan the tapestry of the USA three or four times before you spot it - there at the heart of the matter, tucked between six other states.

Of this half-dozen, four are large, better-known destinations which attract and retain tourists in their own right. Colorado, to the south-west, has America's best ski resorts. South Dakota, to the north, is home to the serrated vistas of Badlands National Park. Wyoming, to the north-west, guards the lion's share of Yellowstone National Park - one of America's most fabled protected areas. And Missouri, to the south-east, has long been associated with the story of Mark Twain - Hannibal, on its north-east edge, was the boyhood home of the great author.

Unless you are planning a fly-drive journey of reasonable length, you are unlikely to give much consideration to Nebraska on their doorsteps, in the same way that your gaze probably slides straight across its two other under-investigated neighbours - Iowa to the east, and Kansas to the south.

It is, simply, not a state that sings to the broader imagination. Even its greatest entry-note in the canon of popular culture, Nebraska, the 1982 album by Bruce Springsteen, is downbeat and spartan, filled with acoustic songs and folk ballads (in direct contrast to the stadium-filling choruses of the 1984 classic Born In The USA, which followed it). The cover is a black-and-white image, taken through a car windscreen, snow caked to the wiper blades, an unpaved road stretching endlessly under a grey sky, fields bleak and blank on both sides of the camber. Talk about battling against ingrained attitudes.

Are the self-deprecating new adverts likely to elevate their subject matter to a higher level of appreciation? The Nebraska Tourism Commission hopes so, arguing that the slogans have been well-received in test marketing sessions - effectively falling back on the received wisdom that there is no such thing as bad publicity. The state "may not be on everyone's bucket list of places to visit," the body has said in a statement - but "if you like experiences that are unpretentious and uncomplicated, or if you enjoy escaping the big city life for moments of solitude in the open plains, creating your own fun or exploring the quirkiness the state has to offer, chances are, you will like it here."

Others are far less convinced. "I just don't think the best way to pitch ourselves is calling out stereotypes about ourselves," Micah Yost, a marketing consultant based in the largest city, Omaha, told The Washington Post. "There's no reason why that would draw people to the state. Nebraska was part of the original frontier, and [a much better way to promote the state as a destination would] be the idea of discovery and really helping people discover things that are out here that they maybe weren't aware of."

Even for those who are intrigued rather than put off by the campaign, there is a further issue - that Nebraska is not entirely easy to reach. There are no direct flights from the UK to Eppley Airfield, the state's biggest airport (on the outskirts of Omaha), and precious few from cities outside the USA (indeed, the sole international flight is a service from Toronto, operated by Air Canada Express). Those who wish to pay a visit from over the international border (or Ontario) need to change planes - perhaps in New York or Washington DC, or maybe at a closer regional hub, like Minneapolis (in Minnesota).

That said, those who do make the effort to find this lost piece of the American jigsaw will find a place with a capacity to surprise. True, it does not have a Statue of Liberty, an Empire State Building, a Venice Beach - or anything else likely to crop up in the Instagram feeds of this smile-and-snap century. But for those keen to peek under the tarpaulin of the American engine, there is much to discover. Including the following...

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Monument Valley pulls streams of tourists to Utah and Arizona. This protected area (nps.gov/scbl), in the far west of Nebraska, plays a similar card. That card is an ace - Scotts Bluff is a cox-comb rock that rears 800ft (240m) above the plains. It is not alone in its efforts - other outcrops (Crown Rock, Sentinel Rock, Dome Rock, Saddle Rock, Eagle Rock) add to the visual drama. But it is the titular sedimentary crag which has become one of Nebraska's postcard moments, the North Platte River flowing below it.

Omaha

Omaha is not Nebraska's capital (that's Lincoln, some 70 miles to the south-west) - but it is its biggest city and metropolitan heartbeat. It sits in the far east of the the state, on the boundary with Iowa, and has long been an entry-point due to its location on the River Missouri. Its Strategic Air Command and Space Museum (sacmuseum.org) is a note of interest for its collection of retired American fighter aircraft - while small venues like the Waiting Room Lounge (waitingroomlounge.com) are emblematic of a vibrant city music scene that has given birth to influential bands such as Bright Eyes.

Sand Hills

By some definitions, the Sand Hills of Nebraska are the largest expanse of dunes in the Western Hemisphere. They spread out to as much as 23,600 square miles in the north-west of the state, underpinned by swathes of thick prairie grass that supply a certain stability to some of the larger piles of powder (the biggest can rise to 330ft/100m). Too dusty for crop cultivation, they have long been used as ranching grounds for longhorn cattle - and have been protected as a National Natural Landmark since 1984 (nps.gov).

Chimney Rock National Historic Site

Anyone visiting Scotts Bluff National Monument would be well advised to continue 22 miles south-east down Route 26 to a geological kindred spirit. Not that Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock look much alike. Where the former is a swarthy bluff, the latter is - as its name suggests - a sharp spire which juts up from a rounded dome of stone. It is smaller than its state colleague (at 480 feet/146m from the base of the dome), but arguably no less striking. More at nps.gov/nr/travel/scotts_bluff/chimney_rock.html.

Carhenge

No day in the vicinity of Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock could ever be complete without a visit to their curious friend. Depending on your perspective, Carhenge (carhenge.com) is either proof that Nebraska is a thoroughly niche destination - or a glorious piece of creative thinking. It is, of course, a model of Stonehenge, constructed using 38 vintage American cars (all painted grey). It was built to mark the Summer Solstice in June 1987, and has become a cult location in the subsequent three decades. It lies a 60-mile drive to the north-east of Scotts Bluff, and is easily combined with it.